As if Émile Poirier didn’t grasp the importance of facing the Russians next week all by himself, he has his head coach constantly reminding him of just what’s at stake.

So much so, Benoit Groulx just about has his star left winger believing the two-game mini series between the core of the Russian junior national team and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League all-stars is the 1972 Summit Series — or any other intense Canada-Russia matchup — all over again.

“Ben keeps saying we’re playing to win ... that every player has to fight to win,” said Poirier, who has two regular season games to play this weekend before suiting up with the Q stars in the first leg of the annual Subway Super Series Monday at the Robert Guertin Arena. The series continues Wednesday in Sherbrooke, then shifts to Ontario and the West.

“He keeps telling me we’re going for two wins ... that we’re not there just for the fans to see the good players,” said Poirier. “I appreciate the rivalry we have with the Russians. But I’ve only seen Canada and Russia play on TV at the Olympics, or the world junior tournament. I sense this is going to be very intense. It’s not just like exhibition games.”

Groulx will man the QMJHL bench as part of his upcoming duties as assistant coach to Brent Sutter for this year’s world junior championship, an opportunity he had to take a pass on as a head coach back in 2009 when he left Gatineau to take a job with the Rochester Americans.

Poirier, for his part, has done just about everything he can to impress his own coach by taking a strong finish to 2012-13 into this season and ratcheting his play up another notch or two. He currently sits tied for fourth in league scoring with 16 goals and 34 points.

The first-round pick (22nd overall) by the Calgary Flames was one of eight Quebec players invited to a 35-player summer junior national team camp in Brossard, Que., and Lake Placid, New York.

Groulx, no doubt, will be pushing hard for Poirier’s inclusion on the final roster. That said, Poirier realizes the eyes of the rest of the Team Canada selection group will be watching and he wants to make a lasting impression on all involved.

“One of my goals this year was to be part of that team at Christmas,” said Poirier. “In my mind, I wanted to have a big start to my year and show people I was capable, and these two games can help a player.

“It’s good to be around Ben every day because he wants you battling all the time. He wants me to perform the way I can.”

Twelve months ago, few would have predicted how fast Poirier’s stock would rise.

At New Year’s, Poirier had 17 goals and 40 points through 34 games, numbers that are certainly respectable for a former third-round pick of the Olympiques in 2011. The numbers didn’t have people thinking world juniors or the first round of the NHL Draft, however.

But something clicked in the latter stages of the season, and by March Poirier was terrorizing opposing QMJHL goalies with his penchant for going to the net with reckless abandon. In March alone, he scored seven goals and 14 points in eight games and then had NHL scouts all re-thinking their initial assessments. He also scored six times in 10 playoff games — the best player on the ice on either team most nights.

The personable 6-1, 185-pound winger might not dazzle with his finesse, but he gets from A to B and loves to go to the net the way all great goal-scorers do.

In his last 68 regular season games, Poirier has been nothing short of sensational, with 36 goals and 82 points. Broken down even further, he has tallied 23 goals and 48 points in his last 29 regular season games.

He also has a knack for scoring when it matters most, with five game-winning goals this season alone. One factor is that his shooting-percentage is 20.8, compared with 16.9 last season. Shots that found goaltenders’ pads last year are going in this time around.

“I know I’m capable,” said Poirier, who will celebrate his 19th birthday at the final Team Canada selection camp in December. “I know I can be one of the top guys in this league. But you have to continue doing it every day.”

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